Accounts Receivable & Aging Ledger Operating Guide

Print Life Software provides a dedicated Accounts Receivable (A/R) Command Center designed for custom apparel decorators and commercial print shops. By categorizing open balances into standardized aging buckets, rolling up balances by corporate customer, enabling one-click payment reminder emails, and providing audit-ready aging exports, shop owners and bookkeepers can protect cash flow, reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), and collect unpaid invoice balances efficiently.

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1. Feature Scope & UI Navigation

The Accounts Receivable system connects order billing statuses, automated aging calculations, customer statement delivery, and financial audit exports across the following dedicated navigation paths:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                PRIMARY NAVIGATION PATHS                                │
├──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┤
│ Accounts Receivable Hub  │ /accounts-receivable        │ Finance & Settings -> A/R     │
│ Customer Rollup View     │ /accounts-receivable        │ View Toggle: Customer Rollup  │
│ Financials P&L Reports   │ /financials?tab=reports     │ Financials -> Reports Tab     │
│ Customer Statement View  │ /customers/[id]             │ Customer Profile -> Billing   │
│ Invoice Payment Action   │ /quotes-invoices/[id]       │ More Actions -> Record Payment│
└──────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘

Accounts Receivable Hub (/accounts-receivable)

• In the left sidebar, expand Finance & Settings $\rightarrow$ click Accounts Receivable (/accounts-receivable).
• KPI Aging Summary Cards:
  • Total Outstanding Receivables: Aggregated dollar value of all unpaid invoice balances across the shop.
  • Current (0–30 Days): Open balances within standard payment terms.
  • 31–60 Days: Invoices entering mild delinquency.
  • 61–90 Days: Seriously overdue balances requiring escalated collections.
  • 90+ Days Past Due: High-risk balances requiring urgent owner intervention or bad-debt assessment.
• Header Actions:
  • Search Input: Real-time filtering across customer names and invoice numbers.
  • View Switcher: Toggle between Itemized Invoices and Customer Rollup Table.
  • Export CSV (Button): Generates an audit-ready, timestamped aging schedule for accounting reviews.

Customer Rollup View

• Switch the view to Customer Rollup:
  • Consolidates all open balances by purchasing company or individual client.
  • Displays total balance owed, oldest overdue invoice date, and active job count.
  • Send Statement (Action Button): Launches the email dialog pre-populated with an itemized statement of all outstanding invoices.

Invoice Row Actions (...)

• Clicking on any invoice row opens the order in the Quote Builder.
• Row Actions:
  • Send Reminder: Dispatches a branded payment reminder email directly to the customer's billing contact.
  • Hide from Receivables: Removes disputed, written-off, or uncollectible invoices from active aging calculations without deleting the historical order record.

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2. Capabilities & Operational Boundaries

The Accounts Receivable architecture aggregates real-time payment transactions and computes aging status dynamically:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      INVOICE CREATION & PAYMENTS                       │
│    Deposits, Progress Payments, Terms Terms -> Balance Due             │
└───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      REAL-TIME A/R AGING ENGINE                        │
│   Calculates Days Elapsed: Current Date - Invoice Issue / Due Date     │
└───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
         ┌──────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┐
         ▼                                                     ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────┐   ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│     AGING BUCKET KPI METERS     │   │     DUAL-VIEW INTERFACE         │
│ • Current (0-30 Days)           │   │ 1. Itemized Invoices List       │
│ • 31-60 Days Overdue            │   │ 2. Consolidated Customer Rollup │
│ • 61-90 Days Overdue            │   │ • 1-Click Reminder Email        │
│ • 90+ Days High-Risk            │   │ • 1-Click Statement Dispatch    │
└─────────────────────────────────┘   └─────────────────────────────────┘

Supported Capabilities

1. Automated Aging Bracket Calculation: Dynamically sorts invoices into standardized 30-day chronological brackets based on elapsed days since issuance.
2. Dual-View Operational Flexibility:
   • Invoices View: Perfect for day-to-day accounts staff reviewing individual job balances and due dates.
   • Customer Rollup View: Perfect for business reviews, identifying top corporate debtors and high-exposure customer credit lines.
3. 1-Click Customer Payment Reminders: Send formatted payment notices directly to customer billing contacts via integrated Gmail, Outlook, or SMTP relays.
4. Audit-Ready CSV Exports: Download complete, formatted aging reports with customer contact details, terms, and bracketed balances for CPA review or bank financing compliance.
5. Non-Destructive Write-Offs (Hide from Receivables): Mark uncollectible debts or disputed amounts as hidden to prevent distorted metrics while keeping tax and production records intact.

Operational Boundaries & Guardrails

• Invoiced Orders Only: Draft quotes, unapproved cost estimates, and declined projects are excluded from accounts receivable. Only confirmed Invoices with positive remaining balances appear in the ledger.
• Automatic Removal Upon Full Payment: When a payment (Stripe, Square, Cash, Check, or Bank Transfer) reduces an invoice's remaining balance to $$0.00$, the invoice automatically exits the A/R queue in real time.
• QuickBooks Multi-Payment Synchronization: Invoices marked with payments in Studio synchronize automatically with QuickBooks Online via linked payment transactions (LinkedTxn).

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3. Step-by-Step SOP Workflows

SOP 1: Reviewing the Shop's Aging Schedule

[Finance & Settings -> Accounts Receivable] ──> [Review Top KPI Cards] ──> [Inspect 61-90 & 90+ Days]

1. Navigate to Accounts Receivable (/accounts-receivable) under Finance & Settings.
2. Review the top KPI cards:
   • Evaluate the Total Receivables balance against your shop's monthly operating burden.
   • Check the 90+ Days bucket to identify urgent collection priorities.
3. Use the search bar to locate specific accounts or filter by aging status.

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SOP 2: Sending an Overdue Invoice Reminder Email

1. In the Itemized Invoices view, locate the overdue order.
2. Click the ... action menu at the right of the row $\rightarrow$ select Send Reminder.
3. The Send Email modal launches:
   • The recipient is pre-filled with the customer's primary billing email.
   • The subject is pre-configured with the invoice number and outstanding balance.
   • The message body contains a direct link allowing the customer to review the invoice and pay online via credit card or ACH.
4. Click Send Email.
5. The dispatch event is recorded in the customer's communication timeline.

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SOP 3: Sending a Consolidated Customer Statement

When a corporate client has multiple outstanding invoices across different jobs:

1. On the Accounts Receivable page, switch the top view toggle to Customer Rollup.
2. Locate the customer row showing their total combined balance.
3. Click the row action button Send Statement.
4. The system aggregates all unpaid invoices into a single structured summary listing each invoice number, issue date, and individual balance due.
5. Click Send Statement to email the complete portfolio directly to the client's accounting department.

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SOP 4: Writing Off Bad Debt or Disputed Invoices

If an invoice is deemed uncollectible and you do not want it distorting your active cash flow forecasts:

1. Locate the invoice in the Accounts Receivable table.
2. Click the ... action menu on the row.
3. Select Hide from Receivables.
4. A confirmation toast appears, and the balance is immediately removed from the active KPI summary cards and table view.
5. Note: The underlying invoice record and quote history remain saved in your database for audit and tax purposes.

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4. Business Logic, Formulas & Aging Rules

Dynamic Aging Bucket Resolution Formula

The aging bracket for an open invoice is evaluated based on calendar days elapsed:

$$\Delta_{\text{days}} = \text{Current Calendar Date} - D_{\text{issue_date}}$$

$$\text{Aging Bucket} = \begin{cases} \text{Current (0–30 Days)}, & \text{if } 0 \le \Delta_{\text{days}} \le 30 \ \text{31–60 Days Past Due}, & \text{if } 31 \le \Delta_{\text{days}} \le 60 \ \text{61–90 Days Past Due}, & \text{if } 61 \le \Delta_{\text{days}} \le 90 \ \text{90+ Days (High Risk)}, & \text{if } \Delta_{\text{days}} > 90 \end{cases}$$

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Customer Rollup Total Balance Formula

For any customer entity $C$ with $n$ active invoices:

$$\text{Total Balance Owed}C = \sum{i=1}^{n} \left(T_{\text{invoice}i} - P{\text{payments_received}_i}\right)$$

Where:

• $T_{\text{invoice}}$ is the final invoiced amount including garments, decorations, shipping, and sales tax.
• $P_{\text{payments}}$ is the sum of all recorded deposits, card transactions, and manual ledger credits.
• Invoices flagged with hideFromReceivables: true are excluded from the calculation.

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5. Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Matrix

Symptom / Question	Root Cause	Exact Remediation Step
Paid invoice is still showing in Accounts Receivable	The payment was recorded as a draft or did not cover the full balance due.	Open the invoice in the Quote Builder, verify remaining balance, and record the final balance payment under Payments.
A customer is missing from the Customer Rollup view	All of the customer's invoices are either paid in full or still in draft quote status.	Ensure the order has been converted to an approved Invoice with an open balance due.
Email reminder fails to send	No valid billing email is configured on the customer profile.	Open the customer record under Customers (/customers/[id]), enter a valid billing email address, and resend.
Accidentally hid an invoice and need to unhide it	The invoice was marked with hideFromReceivables: true.	Open the invoice directly in the Quote Builder (/quotes-invoices/[id]), locate the invoice settings menu, and click Restore to Receivables.

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6. Frequently Asked Questions & Action Prompts

Q: Where do I see all unpaid customer invoices in one place?

Answer: Expand Finance & Settings in the left sidebar and click Accounts Receivable (/accounts-receivable). You will see top KPI cards for Current, 31–60, 61–90, and 90+ days past due, along with an itemized invoice list.

[Open Accounts Receivable](chat:Show me the Accounts Receivable page)

Q: How do I send an overdue payment reminder to a client?

Answer: In Accounts Receivable, locate the overdue invoice, click the ... menu on the right, and select Send Reminder. The system will open an email drawer with a payment link ready to send.

[How do I send a payment reminder?](chat:How do I email an invoice payment reminder?)

Q: Can I send one statement for a customer with multiple unpaid orders?

Answer: Yes! Switch the view toggle at the top of /accounts-receivable to Customer Rollup. Find the customer and click Send Statement to email an itemized statement covering all of their open invoices at once.

[Where is the Customer Rollup view?](chat:Where is the Customer Rollup table in Accounts Receivable?)

Q: How do I write off an invoice that will never be paid?

Answer: Click the ... action menu next to the invoice in Accounts Receivable and select Hide from Receivables. This removes the balance from your aging meters without deleting the order history.

[How do I hide an invoice from A/R?](chat:How do I write off bad debt in Accounts Receivable?)